Predilection: 27th Hour
by Datenma
Summary: (Shounen-ai, IsaacxIvan, FelixxPicard) Isaac takes on the task of protecting a special "Key" when he recieves a mysterious note for an unknown person. Others will stop at nothing to get their hands on the Key. Can he keep his pormise?


**Predilection: 27th Hour**

**By: **Datenma

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Golden Sun or the song Predilection. I think that's owned by ICEMAN.

**Warning: **Shounen-ai later in the story

This is why I should not play Golden Sun while listening to the song Predilection—especially after reading the lyrics. This story is planned out until the end—and it follows the song to an extent so there will be twenty-seven chapters including this one. This should be fun for me XD

Read and Review please!

**Chapter 1: **First Hour

The technology of that world had reached its peak long ago; there were only a few advances here and there, but nothing worth acknowledgment. However, the town itself was a marvel. Large, bustling and yet still managing to carry a hint of the old romance that had once made it what it now was. Though there are many large, brick buildings, there is one that stands above them all. In the heart of this town, is a clock tower with four large ivory faces. The clock tower had not rung in many years, but that was all about to change.

At the very top, on the edge of the ledge in front of the north face of the clock tower, a figure dressed in white stands, almost waiting for something, or someone. A chilling gust of wind rushes up the side of the tall building, blowing back his hair and the smooth leather trench coat he is wearing. A man of mystery and power, what would someone with such stoic features as his be doing on top of a broken clock tower?

The hour hand of the clock points to the 1 and the minute hand to the 12 and the man closes his eyes—eyes that so easily mirror the world around him but at the same time, manage to hide the gateway into his own emotions—bowing his head. Then, for the first time in hundreds of years, the bells of the clock tower chimed once.

Everywhere people in the town stopped and turned their heads towards the clock tower, hushed whispers of amazement passing between them. They could not see the strange man atop the tower, or else they would have seen him open his eyes slowly and lift his head towards the sky, tilting his head to the side. His eyes slide close again and he bows his head, shifting slightly on his feet, lifting his head quickly and turning to look up at the clock face, eyes locking on the hands of the clock, an ominous onyx color.

He slides his hands into the pockets of his pants and turns to pass his eyes over the bustling city, the townspeople now returning to what they had been previously doing, as if the bells had not just rung out, signaling that something great was about to commence. They were completely oblivious to what was about to happen. He narrows his eyes in thought and also as a reflex, another gust of autumn wind stinging his eyes.

He removes his hands from his pockets and along with them, brings out a small piece of paper, a letter. He looks down at it for a moment before tearing it into shreds and holding it out in his palm over the ledge, letting the wind carry the remnants of the letter far from him, high above the unsuspecting city.

"It has begun. The first hour." He turns his back on the city and enters the clock tower so that he can return to the world below, the world he had been watching over, the world he has just turned his back on.

He descends the stone stairs, taking only a couple of minutes, regardless of how long it normally would have taken. Time had slowed. The magic of that day already taking effect, warping reality to what it wanted. The mortals of the world would not be so confused as one might think. They would not even notice the change, nor would care even if they were told. Too busy living their own lives to care about what was going on around them even now.

He steps out of the clock tower. Nothing had been altered, not that he would have expected there to be any changes, wasn't that how magic worked? Secretly? He pushes the thought aside, moving to his motorcycle parked across the street. He slips on his hands-free ear-microphone piece and pulls on his helmet clipping the strap under his chin. He pushes a button on his watch and there is a dial tone in his ear, followed by two rings before someone answers.

_"Hello?"_ The voice on the other line was smooth and deep, carrying an elegance all its own. The man behind that voice must be a very composed person.

"It's started. Are you ready?" His eyes pass over some of the people walking by, just to give him something to do.

_"Yes. We're ready. He left too."_ There was a slight pause on the other line, but only for a moment.

"Good. Keep in contact with him. I'll look for the Key now."

_"Be careful out there. You're on your own for the time being."_

"I'm always careful."

_"Hn. Sure. This coming from the guy who got hospitalized for a week because he tripped and fell down a flight of stairs."_ The man frowns at the comment; one that he felt was very unnecessary.

"I didn't trip, I was pushed."

_"Yeah, yeah and I'm not gay, I just like to sleep with men."_ The man cut the connecting after that, not wanting to fight with the older man any longer.

His anger slips away as he starts up the engine and drives quickly through the streets, weaving in and out of traffic.

A large park comes into view and he stops in front of it, parking his motorcycle in front of the wrought-iron gate and climbing off, pulling his helmet and shaking out his hair. There is a short, sharp whistle from behind him and he turns to see a young man around his age standing there. "Susa."

His friend smiles and walks over to him, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder, "With looks like yours, you never would have guessed that there was great danger in your past and future. You're trained to kill."

"Trained to kill…" He whispers softly. Truth be told, he lost his memory of everything before he came to this place. His past, childhood, family, everything.

His first memory is of waking up near the clock tower, rain pouring down on top of him. There were alien voices all around him, teasing him, berating him. He felt numb all over and he could not move, did not want to move. He knew he would die there, in the back of his mind the thought played over and over again, like a chant or a mantra. It did not bother him, really. He was indifferent to it. He could not think consciously. He would probably just lie there until he died. He was wounded. It crossed his mind as an after thought, nothing more. He would die of blood loss if he did not do something soon. Though, there was nothing he could do.

Then…as his vision began to fade, kind russet eyes appeared in front of him, hovering over his face. Lips turned upside down in worry. Mouthing words he could no longer hear. He passed out soon after, thinking 'This is the end. I'm going to die here…And I don't even know who I…am.'

"Robin." Robin jumps when he realizes where he was, Susa looking at him with amber eyes full of concern.

"Hmm?"

"Did you hear a word I said? You have this dazed look on your face and you weren't responding to anything." Robin frowns slightly, looking to the side for a moment.

"I was just thinking." He continues to look down, turning his attention to his boots now, "About the past that I can remember." Susa pats him on the shoulder again.

"If you want your memory back, I'm sure you'll get it back eventually."

"Eventually. That could take forever." He shakes his head, "That isn't important right now, what is important is finding the Key."

"Yeah. Do we even know what this 'Key' looks like?" Robin shrugs his shoulders as he leans back against his motorcycle.

"A key."

"Descriptive." Robin lifts an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, that's all the letter said, 'A Key will come to you on the first hour of the twenty-seventh hour. Be ready.' The real alchemists will come out just for this Key." Susa turns to him, the surprise apparent on his face.

"The real alchemists?" Robin nods slowly.

"Not the false ones we see everyday, no. Real alchemists like us." Susa turns away from him. His heart was pounding and he could not place the emotions surging through him. A mixture of fear, excitement? What?

Alchemists. They were thought of as commonplace in their world but the ones you see everyday on the street, performing parlor tricks to "impress" people they weren't real, just borrowing their powers from falsehoods. Nothing more.

Their powers did not come from within, as true alchemists did. They used their minds to bend the elements of nature around them. It was hard, even dangerous if you did not know what you were doing, that was why there were so few true alchemists out there.

"Real alchemists." Robin looks at Susa but the older man waves his hands in front of him. "Just…thinking."

"Hn. I understand. That's all right."

"But isn't it a little different?" Susa asks and they lock eyes. "You and me. Our alchemy."

"Our abilities differ in many ways, I'll admit, but other than that…it's generally the same…coming from the same source." Robin brushes back his bangs and looks up at the sky.

The sky. A beautiful azure most of the time but not now. Stormy puffs of gray clouds cover the sky, threatening to ruin the day any minute.

"Get ready. I feel something coming." Susa nods, tensing slightly as his eyes dart around the area, looking for whatever Robin was sensing.

There was a sudden laugh behind them and they turn around to see two blue haired men in black leather standing there, both of whom they knew. Alex Grey and Picard Abe.

Susa gasps when his eyes fall on Picard. "Pi--!" Picard and Robin both shoot him warning glances. "Pi-pickled herring!" The two stare at him as if he had just lost his mind. "Y-you're Alex, aren't you?"

The younger of the two men, the one with the blue eyes and kind smile, nodded, his smile widening. "Yes, I am. And the two of you are part of the infamous group of alchemists known as 'The Phoenixes', am I correct?"

"That's classified." Robin snaps, ready to summon an attack if Alex moved the wrong way. Alex laughs softly.

"That sentence alone answers my question." He nods to them, "I see we are here for the same reason. The Key."

"You're after the Key as well?" Susa asks, eyes widening. Robin glares at Alex coolly.

"We won't let you have it." Alex laughs again.

"Too bad you have no say in the matter. You are no match for me." Alex lifts a hand but Robin beat him to it, bringing both of his hands up in front of him. The ground under him began to shake and Picard jumped out of the way as the ground lifted, upsetting Alex's balance. He was pitched forward but with a skill one might not expect from someone like him, he held out his hand and let it hit the ground before he pushes off that spot and lands gracefully on his feet, flipping his head back so that his hair flew out of his face.

He looks at Robin, still smiling but there was a tick in his eyes and there was an annoyed glint in their sapphire depts. "So, you like to strike unexpectedly. You won't have a chance to do that again." He nods to Picard and the older man waves his hand at Robin and Susa absently. Robin's eyes widen and he pushes Susa away roughly, rolling back away just in time to narrowly miss being shredded to pieces by large daggers of ice. One piece caught Robin on his back, tearing his white trench coat, cutting the thin shirt underneath and biting into his pale skin, drawing a good amount of blood, staring his clothes crimson.

He winces but says nothing as he spins around quickly. He locks eyes with Picard and the man gave him a fleeting apologetic look. "You are interesting. It would appear that I underestimated you, my good sir. Almost as if you can anticipate your opponents every move. That will not keep saving you."

"I think I will be just fine." He placed his hands on the ground and the very air seemed to still around them in anticipation. He closes his eyes, feeling the power gathering in his mind before he pushes it to his hand, through the ground and to the molten earth deep in the ground beneath him.

Picard's eyes widen when he realized what Robin was about to do. He grabs Alex's arm forcefully, pulling him back, "We have to go."

"But the Key—we need it!"

"Do you wish to die?" Alex frowns at him but shakes his head, looking back at Robin.

"We'll get the Key. Just wait." They disappear.

Robin falls backwards, exhaling deeply. "That could have been bad." Susa extends a helping hand to him and Robin takes it once he catches his breath.

"Were you going to summon…Grand Gaia?" Susa breathes, his voice a mixture of awe and scorn. Robin smiles at him weakly, the cut on his back finally catching up with him.

"I had to try. I…could feel it. I almost had it." Susa shakes his head.

"Trust you to try something as dangerous as that. The top alchemists warned us not to summon any of the Gaia spells, for our own safety."

"I know, I know…I just couldn't let that guy get his hand on the Key, it could be a clue to getting my memory back."

"Well…it does seem important, for Garcia to put Picard…" Susa let his voice trail off and Robin nods.

"Yeah."

They stand there in silence for a few moments and then it begins to rain heavily, the ice-cold droplets of water soaking their clothes in a matter of minutes. "This Key…how are we supposed to find it here?"

Robin narrows his eyes and looks at the distant face of the clock tower. The first hour.

He sensed something behind him. He turns around and sees a young boy standing there, clothes tattered and shredded, big, soulful violet eyes clouded over giving the boy a dreamy, distant look. Robin steps away from Susa and towards the boy, extending his hand to him.

The boy looks at him, not quite seeing him. He opens his mouth, whispers something neither Robin nor Susa could hear over the loud rain droplets.

Robin reaches the boy just as he falls forward into Robin's waiting arms.

…Robin. I've been looking for…you—

**TBC**

Hope it was good. Read and review please.

Alex: That sucked!

Stuff it, Water Boy or I'll kill you.

Alex: Oo


End file.
